Couch to 5k – Week 1

Cheri and I started the Couch to 5k beginner’s running routine this week (with inspiration from our friends Kate and Jason). Since this is our first week we alternate running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds for a full 20 minutes (plus warm ups and cool downs before and after). We’ve been doing this around the lake that hides behind our apartment building. Cheri used Map My Run to determine the distance around the lake (about 0.6 miles).

The first day I think we slightly over did ourselves. We were both really huffy-puffy by the middle of our routine and struggled to finish. Today, we didn’t have much of a problem at all. I think the main reason is that we talked during our runs. Talking helped us keep a slower pace because we knew we couldn’t talk to each other if we were gasping for air (this is why drowning victims are often not very vocal).

Cheri found out that there is also a Couch to 5k podcast available on iTunes that coaches you through your routines. It seemed interesting but the music was mostly frenetic techno that wasn’t too appealing. I think we’ll keep talking while running instead.

3 Responses

Good to see someone else participating in the Couch-to-5K. I just finished my third week and have lost almost 10 lbs (my next weigh in is Monday…hopefully I’ll see a few more lbs come off). The C25K is something that has helped me tremendously. Good luck with your pursuit of shedding the weight! 🙂

FYI

My name is Eric and I live in Burke, Virginia.

Here are a few tidbits about me: Chesapeake, Virginia is my hometown; Cheri is my lovely wife; Photography and pool are my most active hobbies; Crohn's Disease is my ailment; Virginia Tech and The George Washington University are the schools I graduated from; Cookies & Cream is my favorite ice cream flavor.

Also, fallenposters is the alias I use on most websites. It was the first username I came up with when joining instant messenger in college. The first thing I saw was the posters that had fallen from my dorm room wall, and the rest is history.